It also brings out a variety of opinions on topics that may or may not even be on the agenda. When I attended the Dallas ISD board meeting yesterday, I never expected to get a earful about Highland Park High School. And to be fair, it was really more like an ear-quarter-ful.

“If I gave Highland Park High School $10M and asked then to rename it Booker T. Washington High School, they’d probably put me in jail,” said Rev. Peter Johnson, who voiced his opinion on a host of issues.

Johnson used this illustration as the exclamation point on his frustration with the lack of naming rights given in South Oak Cliff, particularly the board’s refusal to name a school after John Hope Franklin at the June meeting.

Update: This just in from Unfair Park regarding the district’s distaste of the public forum.

In honor of their work with Guatemalan orphans, Bryan and Karen Perry will dine with Rep. Pete Sessions in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 5. The Park Cities residents are among the 2011 Angels in Adoption being recognized by the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute.

Since 2004, Karen has made more than 30 trips to Guatemala with Buckner International and is affectionately known as “Mamita Karen.”

Read the full press release after the jump.

Rep. Pete Sessions Honors Buckner Donors and Advocates

Karen and Bryan Perry as Angels in Adoption™

Perrys to be recognized at national event in Washington, D.C.

DALLAS – Rep. Pete Sessions has selected Dallas residents Karen and Bryan Perry as 2011 Angels in Adoption awardees for their outstanding advocacy for orphans.  The Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI), which orchestrates the Angels in Adoption^™ program, will honor the Perrys, along with more than 150 Angels, at an awards ceremony and gala event in Washington, D.C., October 5, 2011.

The Perrys were nominated by Buckner International for their devotion to the orphans of Guatemala. In the past seven years, Karen has made more than 30 trips to visit the children who call her ‘Mamita Karen,’ and the Perrys support has fueled Buckner’s growth to serve almost 14,000 children each year in that  country.

“Orphans and vulnerable children have no greater advocate than the Perry Family,” said Albert Reyes, President of Buckner International. “The number of children Karen and Bryan have served cannot be counted. They not only impacted the lives of the many children they have served through their time and resources, but they have also uplifted countless families through their support of the adoption process.”

The Angels in Adoption program is CCAI’s signature public awareness campaign and provides an opportunity for all members of the U.S. Congress to honor the good work of their constituents who have enriched the lives of foster children and orphans in the United States and abroad.

In addition to the more than 150 local angels from around the country, several “National Angels” will also be recognized at the ceremony and gala for their dedication and commitment nationally and internationally to child welfare on a grand scale.  This year’s National Angels are Academy Award nominated actor and screenwriter Nia Vardalos, NFL Linebacker Scott Fujita, and the Emmy nominated television program Freddie Mac’s Wednesday’s Child. Former National Angels include First Lady Laura Bush, Patti LaBelle, Jane Seymour, Muhammad Ali, the late Dave Thomas, Steven Curtis Chapman, Bruce Willis, Alonzo Mourning, Rhea Perlman and Kristin Chenoweth.

The Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI) is a 501(c)3 nonpartisan organization dedicated to raising awareness about the tens of thousands of orphans and foster children in the United States and the millions of orphans around the world in need of permanent, safe, and loving homes through adoption.  CCAI’s goal is the elimination of the barriers that hinder these children from realizing their basic right of a family.

The Angels in Adoption™ program was established in 1999 as a Congressional press conference to honor outstanding individuals. Since then, the program has developed into a yearlong public awareness campaign culminating in an extraordinary awards Gala and celebration in Washington, D.C.

In light of last week’s Navy SEAL mission that killed Osama Bin Laden, we’ve all grown a bit more interested in the elite forces responsible. Martin “Jake” Jacobson, now 89, was 22 when he joined the military and subsequently became part of the Underwater Demolition Team, a division of the Navy that was the precursor to the SEALs. Jacobson was awarded the Silver Star for his service. Go the jump to learn more about his experience.

Where did your missions take place? The first mission was the invasion of the Marianes [in the Philippines]. I also went on missions in Guam, Saipan, and Japan.

How did you become part of UDT? I volunteered for the Navy Construction Battalion in June of 1943. They were a group that was formed just prior to WWII. They knew the war was coming and the Navy did not have a construction unit so they formed the CB’s. I knew that’s what I wanted to do, but then I got side tracked because I didn’t want to spend the winter in Williamsburg, Virginia so they were recruiting for the UDT teams so I volunteered into that.

What was your training like? The training was always very hard physical training. The training that we took in 1943 was much different than what it has evolved to now [in the SEALS].  It was a six-week program in Fort Pierce, Florida. We did running, swimming, and log PT, where a team of men would take a telephone pole, raise it over our heads, and pass it along in a line. We were a specialized team that would go out in rubber boats and use explosives to get rid of underwater obstacles and get the heck out of there.

What was the purpose of UDT? We could already see that the Germans were putting obstacles on the beaches in France so we knew it was something we had to be prepared to deal with. The mission changed after the invasions at Tarawa, an island in the Pacific. When the Marines went to go on shore, they didn’t know the conditions were like. The coral reef dropped off, and they got stuck out in the water with all their equipment. The guns on shore were triggered on them. They just lost so many Marines that day. The Navy decided before they did any more invasions, they wanted to know what the beach conditions were like. So they changed our mission to add reconnaissance of the beaches before the landings. They did that the first time on the invasion of the Marshall Islands and it worked so well.

What was your most memorable mission? It was all pretty memorable, but on the island of Guam we had these coral cribs they had built out on the reef blocking the shore. They were about 4-feet in diameter, and they stood up about 4-feet above the water. The boats couldn’t get in to land between them. We took out 680 of those in a three or four day operation with 20-pound packs of Tetryol, an explosive.

What was the most danger you ever felt you were in? I once spent about six hours one night in the water never knowing whether I’d find the ship or not. We were going to do a night reconnaissance on Guam and we had a limited time tio do it in because the fleet was going to bombard the beach at a certain hour and we were supposed to withdraw from there. They fired the flares and that meant we needed to get out of there. The group I was with was six men, and we were supposed to go back the rubber boat we had come in on. Well three of us missed the boat. After a while, we thought the enemy had seen us so we started swimming out to sea, to see if we could find the boat. Fortunately they had left a ship in, thinking they might spot us at daylight, and they did find the three of us. We swam from about midnight until 6 in the morning.

What was your path like when you came back to the US? I had a degree in civil engineering, so my mission then was to find a job. There wasn’t much going on in Montana at that time. One of my best friends, my commanding officer, lived in Dallas. I got in touch with him, and through his help I got a job here in general contracting. I’ve been in it ever since. I started that work in 1947, and I’m still going to the office every day.

Jacobson, pictured here with his Silver Star, is a resident at Edgemere Retirement Community and a former partner at McFadden & Miller, where he still works part-time. Ever the thrill-seeker, Jacobson began sky-dving at 70 and has been seven times.

So just in case there’s any fuzzy on this, I don’t really suggest that people use the column as a how-to. K?

They begin with a debate regarding the introduction of beer and wine into grocery stores throughout the Park Cites. Charles welcomes the idea, while Merritt is concerned it may lead to terrible things.

She also gives HP coaches the green light to grab a round of beers and a steak on the school’s dime.

Also, a cat stops by! The wonders never cease!

We now know that even tornadoes won’t keep Charles from a cheap glass of wine.

Merritt wants to see a comeback in wooden paddles at schools. They might come in handy when you hear about Merritt’s newest lead on naughty middle-schoolers.

Update: The mp3 file has been updated to the correct file (9/13/10). Sorry about that folks!

Join Merritt and Charles as they take a trip down memory lane and share memories of daydreams, gossip, and smells of junior high.

I’m sure the fan club is already in full swing and reading Park Cities People since I had the marketing smarts to place a card on the wall of Old Absinthe House in New Orleans. Or they would be if I had realized a little sooner that my cards have the old web address. I mean, who knew? 

Dan, new card request on the way.    

Merritt is at it again with her rule-book — this week, about carpool lanes. She has good reason why SMU camp counselors should control the traffic. Charles believes they are perfect candidates since “their brains haven’t been corroded by children yet.”

Unusual male fashion has been noted at the local pools, hence the title of this podcast.

And finally, Charles might have a celebrity stalker. Find out who it is on this week’s Bursting the Bubble.